CALGARY -- It was a normal sunny fall day when Calgary based wrestler
Apocalypse grabbed his mail. Sorting through, he noticed a envelope from
his trainer Tokyo Joe. When he opened it up he couldn't believe his
eyes. Inside was a Japanese wrestling magazine, and it contained an
advertisement that said simply "The Shadow ... Coming Soon."

The ad had his picture.

"I was pretty blown away. You watch other people do it and think 'maybe
one day I can too,' but I have never been one of those guys who felt
'that is going to be me one day.' So when I saw the magazine it was
pretty overwhelming. I was a pretty happy guy that day."

The news only got better as he soon got his first match assignments. His
first match? A tag team main event in Tokyo's famous Korakuen Hall,
teaming with former WCW star Scott Norton against Josh Barnett & IWGP
Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Also scheduled are a match against Manabu
Nakanishi, who wrestled as Kurasawa in WCW, and a non-title singles bout
with Tenzan. SLAM! Wrestling caught up with Apoc just hours before his
flight left Calgary and asked how he was feeling at that exact moment.

"That it is really cold outside so I am going to enjoy the heat there.
It's about 18 degrees out there right now," he joked.

Unfortunately, there was not room in his luggage to fit a 6'8" SLAM!
Wrestling writer. Instead Apoc chose to take his Playstation.

"You end up spending a lot of time in your hotel room. Plus when you
first get there your sleeping schedule is all messed up because it is a
16-hour time difference. Dave Swift told me he used to wake up at 3 a.m.
and be wide awake. He didn't take his Playstation and recommended that
one definitely do so."

Apoc is the third Calgary based athlete to head to NJPW in the past
year. "Stampede Kid" TJ
Wilson has embarked on three tours in the Junior-heavyweight
division, while Dave Swift, dubbed "The Swifter" toured this past
summer. All three men were rechristened when they headed overseas. So
why did Apocalypse become "The Shadow?"

"They can't properly say my name. Stampede Kid is the most suiting name
out of any of us. TJ IS the Stampede Kid. None of us picked our names,
Joe picked them for us. That was the reason, because Apocalypse is very
hard for them to pronounce," Apocalypse said.

It was a long road for the four-year veteran to get to this point. The
past year has been full of very intense physical training.

"It's taken a lot of hard work and dedication. My training over the past
year has really taught me that I want to be a pro wrestler because I am
willing to do a bit more then some other guys to make sure that I will
make it," he said. "I have put that full effort forth in the past year
to the best of my ability that is what has done it. I worked hard and I
got a touch of luck. We didn't train every day of the year. With Joe it
is training for a month or two then a month or so off. Our last break
was July-November, that was the longest one in the past year."

Over the past four years Apoc has matured as an athlete and had an
incredible career. NJPW is another in a long list of promotions, added
to NHB, Stampede, PWA, Matrats, POW, ECCW, CCW, and Twin Towers in
Inuvik, N.W.T. in which he toured with Brutus Beefcake. With so many
promotions and great experiences, it was hard for Apoc to pick, up until
this point, the defining moment of his career.

"It's hard to say. I have done things in the first four years that I
never thought I would do. I didn't think I would get to hang out with
Jerry Lynn, let alone team up with him like I did in Saskatoon. Same
goes for wrestling Sabu," he said. But promoting a show in his hometown
two years ago, which he would only refer to as "the hole" holds a fond
memory. "That will always stick out in my mind, my hometown isn't very
big, so getting to wrestle in front of all of my friends and show
everyone 'hey this is what I am doing!' I had a great time. That was a
big moment."

This is also not the first time he has traveled overseas to tour.
Scheduled to do a three-month tour with All Star Wrestling in the UK
from August until November, Apoc went through hell when he arrived after
his 11-hour flight. He was stopped at customs, had his contact
information taken away from him and then held for several hours until he
was told he was being sent home. The only positive from the trip was
that the flight crew recognized him, took pity and upgraded him to first
class. For his trip to Japan he was well prepared.

"I have all of my papers and visa. So unless they are terrified of me
and don't let me in I should be okay."

He was. Reports coming out of Japan say that the 6'3", 220-pound athlete
had an impressive showing in his first match before submitting to
Tenzan's Anaconda Vice. Going into the match, Apoc was understandably
nervous; especially as of his Canadian trio he had the highest profile
matches.

"I am definitely feeling a lot of pressure. When I found out my first
match would be a main event in Koreauken Hall I nearly crapped myself. I
don't have a big ego when it comes to wrestling, not saying that the
other guys do. But to hear that my first match is in a main event with
guys of that caliber is pretty shocking when you are just a little
Apocalypse."

But he did take some comfort in having spent time training with Tenzan
in Calgary this past summer.

"One thing that makes me less nervous is the fact that I have trained
with Tenzan. But on the other hand, since he was here, he's become the
IWGP Heavyweight Champion. That blows me away that I will be wrestling
him. It's a non-title match, but still that is the champion. It's kind
of like on Smackdown! when Paul London showed up to wrestle Brock Lesnar
... except I am far less known then Paul London."

Although he has a heavy wrestling schedule on his first tour, Apoc is
hoping to check out some of the sights and sounds of Japan.

"I'd like to see as much as possible. I am doing a lot of wrestling and
that is my main interest is going. There is so much history in Japan
that I would like to explore, but who knows what I will get to do. I
love ancient Japanese Mythology, I am big on that sort of thing. There
is so much that you can see or do there."

Most importantly, Apoc wants to take as much from the trip as possible
before he returns in mid-December.

"Going is such a huge step from anything I have ever done in wrestling.
Just the experience and the knowledge I can gain. It would be nice to
get a bit extra credibility to my name here so that when people want to
bring me in I can tag on a couple of extra numbers to my price tag. Not
saying that one trip to Japan will do that, but hopefully if things go
well and people appreciate and enjoy what I do then that is how it will
go."